Asbestos News
Beware of Asbestos and Other Toxins in Toys as Holiday Shopping Starts
Alert: Toys With Asbestos Sold on Amazon, eBay, and in Stores.
It’s hard to believe that products designed and manufactured for children could pose serious, long-term health risks, yet hundreds of toys are recalled annually for that reason. Each year, the holiday shopping season exposes manufacturers selling products intended for children that contain cancer-causing toxins.
Over 40,000 chemicals are regularly used in consumer products, yet less than one percent of those chemicals have received widespread testing for human safety. Subsequently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has marked millions of children’s toys, jewellery, makeup kits, costumes, and more unsafe due to potentially dangerous levels of carcinogens.
What are the risks of asbestos exposure and when did the rules change?
It has been used for thousands of years, but large-scale use began in the late 19th century because of its heat-resistance and fire-retardant properties.
It was used in fire-proofed clothes and in hundreds of thousands of buildings. One commonly seen use was in the corrugate roofs of blocks of garages and sheds provided for housing estates.
The material is easily abraded and releases tiny fibres into the air when damaged, which can be breathed in. That can cause serious lung conditions asbestosis and mesothelioma.
More than 5,000 people in the UK die of asbestos-related diseases every year – and about 100,000 people die every year across the globe.
If a building still has asbestos in its fabric and needs to be removed or demolished, specialist contractors who are licensed to work with asbestos are needed.
Northampton resident ‘exasperated’ as ‘asbestos’ materials fly-tipped nearly a month ago still not removed
A resident has been left ‘exasperated’ by the lack of urgency to remove or implement safety measures around illegally fly-tipped asbestos materials.
Several broken-down roofing materials were dumped in an access road off Barry Road, Abington on October 7.
The illegal waste, which could include asbestos and could be dangerous to the public, was reported to Northampton Borough Council more than once.
Asbestos find delays work to refurbish old bank bought by council for £150k
An asbestos find has delayed work to refurbish a grade II listed former bank building.
The three storey former Barclays Bank building in Loftus High Street was bought for £150,000 by Redcar and Cleveland Council. The council said last year it wanted to bring back a form of banking or post office service and also provide high quality visitor accommodation for anyone staying in the town.
The proposed development includes the creation of four self-contained flats on the first and second floors, which will be used as short-term holiday lets.
Popular dance teacher died due to asbestos exposure
A POPULAR dance teacher who ran a school for more than 20 years died as a result of asbestos exposure, an inquest heard.
Katrina Jane Earley, 59, died on February 23 this year, a little less than five years after first being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by the exposure to asbestos.
The inquest heard how Mrs Earley became concerned for her health in 2015 after experience night sweats and becoming increasingly tired.
Eastbourne man dies from asbestos exposure
Martin Nicholson died in his home in Sorrel Drive on September 9 of this year. An inquest at Eastbourne Town Hall on Thursday (October 29), heard Mr Nicholson, a skilled labourer, had been exposed to water pipes made from asbestos cement for a number of years, ending in 2002.
In a statement made in February 2019, Mr Nicholson said the pipes made from asbestos cement were ‘very common due to their strength, however they were often in poor condition because they were very old’.
Six tonnes of asbestos waste dumped on country lane in Esst Sussex
Harts Lane in Hartfield, East Sussex, was forced to close for four days while the area was made safe by specialist cleaners - at a cost of £2,500 of taxpayers' money. Wealden Council is now searching for the perpetrators behind the dumping of the potentially harmful waste, which has been banned since 1999.
Ex-carpenter, 70, died after long-term exposure to asbestos dust
A retired carpenter from Swaffham died earlier this month from a cancer linked to exposure to asbestos.
Paul Anthony Moulton, 70, passed away at his home in Watton Road on October 7 after being treated for pleural mesothelioma.
An inquest into his death was held at Carrow House in Norwich on Friday.
Keep up to date with the UK’s latest Asbestos News:
Lincolnshire teacher among 300 who have died from asbestos exposure.
A Lincolnshire teacher is among hundreds who have died of an illness related to asbestos exposure over the past 15 years. Mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer– caused by inhaling fibres from the now banned building material. It has claimed 292 teacher's lives since 2005, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Asbestos Exposure at Home: 4 Ways It Happens
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Exposure to asbestos has no limitations. It can happen nearly anywhere, mostly due to asbestos being used everywhere for decades. Your home may be filled with this cancerous substance. Asbestos exposure at home occurs in older houses, particularly those built prior to the 1980s. The substance, which is the only scientific cause of mesothelioma, could be in your kitchen appliances, hiding in your walls, or sitting on your roof shingles.
Include asbestos risk awareness in NHS staff training, study recommends
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Awareness of asbestos risk and the possibility of a mesothelioma diagnosis should be added to the mandatory training for new NHS staff, given that asbestos is present in many hospital buildings, a report has recommended.
Asbestos: What Are My Responsibilities as a Property Owner?
It’s common knowledge that asbestos is a highly damaging group of microscopic fibres that can severely impact the health of our lungs if inhaled. Many wonder if there is an actual need for asbestos considering how dangerous it can be if not dealt with correctly. As of 1999, the use for asbestos was banned in the UK. However, during the 1950s-80s, asbestos was commonly used in buildings due to its strong resistance to chemical attacks, its poor ability to conduct heat, and its overall superb tensile strength.
With this in mind, it is important that property owners take on the responsibility of checking their buildings for this substance in order to protect their occupancies.
Asbestos training during Covid: A matter of life and death
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Asbestos training in the construction industry has dropped sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic to the lowest level in five years. The UK Asbestos Training Association raises concerns at this fall and urges action to avert a serious crisis.
The UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) has raised concerns about the lack of asbestos training in the construction industry that has been undertaken since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
New project to support asbestos cancer patients in Wales.
A new project has been launched to support asbestos-related cancer patients in Wales, funded by Mesothelioma UK with support from the Burdette Trust for Nursing. Mesothelioma UK Clinical Nurse Specialist for Wales, Sarah Morgan will lead on the project to review patient needs across Wales, working towards establishing a coordinated All-Wales Specialist Mesothelioma service.
Mesothelioma is asbestos-related cancer and the UK has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in the world.
Report published on military experiences of asbestos-related cancer.
A study carried out by researchers at the University of Sheffield and funded by national cancer charity, Mesothelioma UK, has detailed some of the experiences of, and support required for armed forces personnel and military veterans with asbestos-related cancer.
NI rugby club closes bar to remove asbestos.
The bar, at Pollock Park, home of Lurgan Rugby Club, will be closed until the end of the week.
In a statement online, Pollock Park Sport said: “Following a recent survey of the club house we are now removing some items of asbestos around the bar, bar store and kitchen.